Plain
by JazzyCat
Summary: He wants her to see herself the way he sees her. NejiTen oneshot. Fluffy...enjoy.


She dipped her toes into the water as she sat on the bank. She sat on her hands and stared into the disrupted reflection of her face in the water.

_Very much like my normal face_, she thought, _ugly._

She wished she was pretty. All the other girls her age were gorgeous, but she hadn't inherited the Konoha trait. There wasn't really one, but it felt like that, since everywhere she looked there were cute girls and beautiful women and then the gorgeous in-between ones who shouldn't be pretty because they're thirteen and should be covered in zits, and Tenten was just plain.

Ino was a classic beauty, Sakura had an exotic look to her, hell, even Hinata was pretty in that innocent schoolgirl kind of way. And when they were all lined up, Tenten felt outshone, like a dirty brown splotch next to a rainbow.

No, she didn't have Ino's long blond hair or big boobs. She didn't have Sakura's femininity (when she wasn't going super-strength beat down on people) and she wasn't as sweet and cute as Hinata. She was plain, simple as that. Plain brown hair, plain brown eyes. Plain plain plain.

She sighed, looking at herself, and kicked her left foot, sending ripples flying out, distorting the image even more, to the point where she couldn't even recognize it. "I like it better that way," she said, and leaned back on her hands, still swishing her feet in the river below.

"Like what better?"

She nearly jumped two feet in the air when she heard his voice. She hadn't heard him creep up and stand behind her, staring down as she leaned back.

"Neji!" She screeched. "Don't scare me like that!"

Without asking to join her, he sat down beside her. "Like what better?"

She resisted the urge to scowl as she looked at her teammate. Even _he_ was prettier than her! "Nothing, just thinking aloud."

He peered at her, and his lavender-white eyes almost looked through her. She wasn't sure if he was using Byakugan to see through her clothes or what. "Neji?"

"You're lying."

"Huh?"

"It's not nothing. Now come on. Tell me." His eyes were unrelenting, and she couldn't help but feel compelled to—

"Oh, fine. It's um…kind of embarrassing."

Neji waited. Tenten sighed, preparing herself.

"IwasjusttalkingabouthowitwasbetterthatIcouldn'tseemyreflectionsinceit'sugly." She spoke it all in one breath and then looked away, hoping he hadn't heard it.

It took him a few seconds to comprehend, but he understood. "Ugly?"

"Well…no. Plain. That's the word I used."

"Plain?" The boy looked at her, and she wished she knew what he was thinking. The gaze seemed to be sizing her up, criticizing her, rating her.

"Quit staring."

"Tenten, you're not plain." She turned back to him, surprised. "You're very pretty." This was all so out of character for him…she wasn't sure if he was joking or maybe he was sick?

She put a hand to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Stop that," he pushed her hand away, annoyed. "I'm fine. I'm not feverish or delirious. I know exactly what I'm saying." He sniffed, indignant, and then continued what he was saying. "You're not plain at all. You're beautiful, Tenten, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Okay, now I _know_ you're joking." She stiffened unappreciatively. "And it's not funny. Cut it out." She stood up to leave, shaking the water from her feet and reaching for her shoes. His hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. She opened her mouth to protest, to tell him to let her go, and his lips crushed down on hers, silencing her unspoken words.

When he broke away, he looked her straight in the eye, smirking at the blush on her cheeks. "Now are you convinced?" She nodded dumbly. "Good." He got up, leaving her. Just before he was out of earshot, he looked back at her stunned form over his shoulder and said quietly "later, beautiful."

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**A/N: Something that popped into my head while looking at fanart and how little I saw Tenten amongst the beautiful Naruto girls. I thought it was cute...and I was overdue for a little NejiTen something. ENJOY!  
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